UN rights experts criticize reported Belarus execution

GENEVA (AP) — U.N. human rights experts are criticizing a reported execution of a murder suspect in Belarus, saying the move violates the country's international commitments.

The experts cited reports that Sergey Ivanov was executed on around April 18, despite a specific request by a U.N. panel to allow a review of the case first. Ivanov was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death last year.

Nigel Rodley, a special rapporteur for the Human Rights Committee, said the execution "amounts to both a callous disdain for and a grave breach of Belarus' international human rights obligations."

A U.N. statement Friday said Ivanov's brother had appealed to the committee and argued that the trial was unfair. It said Belarus is the only country in Europe and Central Asia that applies the death penalty.